Albertans hoping to get an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine a week after the province opened up eligibility to people born in 1981 or older might find it harder to track down.
All of the Alberta Health Services (AHS) appointments have been booked up, Alberta Health said Wednesday, and pharmacies around the province have received every dose the province was allocated by the federal government.
“There are no appointments for AstraZeneca available for online booking or by calling 811 at this time, province-wide at AHS sites,” a written statement from AHS said.
“The vast majority of doses have now been administered or booked but there are appointments available at some participating pharmacies.”
Some walk-in vaccinations are available at clinics in Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie, and AHS said anyone booked to receive a vaccine will get one.
“At end of day yesterday (April 27) AHS had administered approximately 69,500 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through both booked appointments and via walk-in province-wide,” the statement concluded.
“Alberta received approximately 270,000 doses of AstraZeneca, and they have all been shipped to pharmacies and AHS,” Alberta Health spokesman Tom McMillan told Global News by email.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said he hopes to continue to procure AstraZeneca doses via the federal government.
“For the rural pharmacies, of course we want to continue to make sure that they have a continuous supply as people are making their appointments — they’re making appointments for vaccines that haven’t yet arrived here in Alberta,” Shandro said.
